Smack Time
by bbqdefender
Summary: Finn struggles with a demon more powerful than anything from the Nightosphere. Can Jake save his brother?


Do you ever wish you could just forget everything, even just for a few seconds? That you could just snap your fingers, or close your eyes, or maybe tap your heels together three times and mumble "There's no place like home," and all your problems would vanish. Or maybe you wish you had some sort of potion, and when you drank it all the stupid stuff just wouldn't matter anymore.

Well, I know how to do it. It's easy really just like magic. Magic dust. All you have to do is keep a little in your pocket with you, and when the going gets rough, puff a little down, and PRESTO! You're amazing, you're incredible. Everyone loves you your pill-popping princess, your clueless robot, your geeky brother even that crabby old donut who runs the newspaper stand, and the homeless goblin who's pants are always pissed when you pass him in the morning. The magic just makes you invincible.

Yeah, that's the great thing about heroin.

"Finn, it's already 70 degrees outside you'll burn up!" BMO shouted from the kitchen. Finn, in a jeans and a plain black, long-sleeve shirt grimaced, and shot back, "I'll be fine BMO," as he let the front door bang shut behind him. Robots. Always trying to give advice when he didn't need it.

Between the walk from his house to the truck he fixed up again (where Jake was waiting), the sweat started to bead on his forehead. He wiped crossly at it with a sleeve, and nearly jogged the rest of the way across the grasslands. As soon as the car door was slammed shut behind Finn, Jake hit the gas that dog wouldn't have speeded if his life depended on it, but there was no way he was going to be late for candy kingdom school because of his lousy brother again.

Man oh man when is this class gonna end .

Finn's eyes jumped to the clock again, where the time was precisely ten seconds later than it had been the last time he'd looked. It was hard enough to focus on anything, let alone the stupid princess up front gabbing away. The room felt tight, stuffy, overcrowded, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe as if each time he took a breath, the air around him crushed in his chest a little more. He squeezed his eyes shut, and jammed his forehead against his the heel of his hand, trying to calm down before he ended up hyperventilating. It sort of worked, especially if he let his lips mumble silently while he did it.

When the bell rang, all he wanted to do was bolt straight out of the classroom. Instead, the teacher, Princess Bubblegum, called him up to the front. Jake exited the classroom with the other students, but paused outside the door, only a little worried; Finn got in trouble with PB all the time nowadays.

When Finn reached the princess's desk, he braced his hands apart on his side of it, and leaned over. It looked like typical confident, cool-boy behavior, but all Finn wanted to do was keep from flipping out.

"Are you alright, Finn the Human?"

"Fine," he managed to get out, feeling his insides start to clam up a little at the question instead of the usual reprimand.

"Are you sure, Finn?"

He made the mistake of looking up into PB's eyes, which were both serious and troubled. Finn gave a slight nod and forced out a, "Yeah," before he dropped his gaze, then hurried out of the room.

"Finn " Jake started when her brother exited the classroom. "Not now Jake," Finn replied shortly, starting to try to push past him. Suddenly Marceline, sporting a grin and a second-hand leather jacket, slid a thin arm around Finn shoulder and between him and Jake. When she caught sight of Finn's face, she grimaced. "You look bad, my man. Don't worry I got the cure." And with that, Jake watched Marceline lead a very relieved Finn away.

As Finn was leaning foreword to open the car on the passenger's side of the car, a girl came running across the front lawn of the school, catching his elbow in a dainty hand. "Finn," she nearly gasped, out of breath, "Finn, I was wondering since it's a Friday night and all well, I know they're not your absolute favorite band, but the Jamones are playing down at the Monster's Belly tonight "

"Look, I'm sorry Flame Princess; I can't," Finn told her, without even looking up, before he opened the door and climbed in. FP struggled to hide her disappointment, even as Finn told her, only semi-apologetically, "I'll call you this weekend." Jake sat in shock for a minute, but when she realized Finn wasn't going to tell the girl anything else, she started home.

Jake came downstairs, and couldn't stop a frown; Finn was sprawled across the entire couch, flipping channels on the TV, an untouched bowl of cheetos on the coffee table in front of him. his brother, the party animal, home on a Friday night? When he'd turned down that girl for a third weekend in a row, Jake had figured he'd had something crazy already planned, so this was a bit worrisome. Not to mention annoying; he'd wanted to video chat with President Porpoise.

"Hey," he tried.

"Hey."

"So, uh what're you doing home?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, why aren't you you know, out?"

Finn grunted, and Jake came to sit on the armrest of couch on the side Finn's head was on.

"So you turned Flame Princess down yet again to stay at home and watch television?"

"Yeah, it looks like it." There was an unpleasantly sarcastic edge on his voice when he said it.

"You know " Jake hesitated, not sure how to point out that his brother was being a dick without actually calling him one. "That's not really very nice."

This time, Finn tilted his head back to look at him with the 'you're a loser' look that Jake hated so much, and shrugged his shoulder's a bit, before turning back to the TV screen. "I just didn't feel like going to the movies with her."

Jake nodded, and sat on the edge of couch a bit longer, before getting up and heading for his room. But he couldn't get it out of his head it wasn't Finn's answer that was bothering her, but the way his eyes had looked when he'd said it.

Jake had really started to worry. Not full-blown panic or anything but he knew that BMO was picking up on something too, when he asked Jake, "Is everything alright with you and Finn?" Jake has given him an honest answer; "I think so." But with each day, he was a little less sure. Finn had broken it off with Flame Princess, which wasn't so unusual, but as far as Jake knew he hadn't even hooked up with anyone since at least, not anyone that anybody knew about. He showed up less and less often to get rides home from Jake and he often came home long after everyone was asleep.

Naturally, Jake had assumed that BMO would bring it up with him but he hadn't. In fact, it seemed that he was just as happy not knowing what was going on, as long as Finn was in the door by the time his batteries were charged. The robot hadn't really seemed itself lately, either he was always tired, and seemed out of it; Jake found he had a hard time carrying on a conversation with him on several occasions. But when he'd asked Banana Man, he'd told him not to worry about it; he was going through a bit of a rough time, but he had it all taken care of.

Jake glanced at the clock 11:37 and sighed, before climbing the stairs to his room, he glanced over at the empty bed across from his dresser.  
BMO heard the front door creak open, and then the soft foot-steps of his human sneaking in. He flipped the lamp on, and Finn froze, looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Well. You're home early," BMO commented, standing to move towards Finn, who wasn't sure how to respond, and just stood there.

"Look, Finn " the boy had started moving again, carefully unlacing his shoes as if he couldn't hear BMO "You can't keep doing this, It's not fair to Football, or me. We worry " Finn hung his jacket on the banister "about you. So," BMO drew himself up; he wasn't used to trying to be the law enforcement figure of the house, but since nobody else seemed up to it "You need to start being home at seven on school nights, and ten on the weekends no more nights out." Finn, selective-hearing in tow, walked right by him and up the steps, causing BMO to falter on what he was about to say next. He stood still at the bottom of the steps until he heard the door to Finn's room click shut.

Jake tried to interest himself in the TV; it was six o'clock and Finn hadn't been home for over twenty-four hours. Ice King would be home any minute, and then Jake was sure, they'd be calling the banana guards. If BMO hadn't been a zombie at this point from playing too many video games, Jake was sure that would have happened long before. Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Jake looked up then felt his temper flare when he saw who it was. Finn the Human, and a pretty messed up as well.

"BMO! Finn's home!"

BMO rushed in from the other room and wrapped Finn's ankle in a hug, saying over and over again things like, "I was so worried," and "I love you so much Finn, don't ever do that to me again," and Jake tensed, waiting for the explosion but it never came. Instead, he said softly, "You look pretty bad. Why don't you go up to your room, and get some sleep." Finn offered him a weak smile, and stumbled away up the steps towards his room.

BMO retreated to the kitchen to nurse a cup of coffee.

Jake couldn't take it anymore he could feel the anger rising in him like he'd never felt before. He stormed up the steps and down the hall, grabbed the handle and threw the door open to Finn's room and stopped short in disbelief.

Finn was on his bed, one sleeve rolled up to his shoulder, a badly tied tourniquet tied around that bicep. One hand steadied the other at the elbow, and the blue veins of his arm bulged sickeningly. He was trying to get the needle to stick but his sides were shaking as he alternated between dry heaving and silent sobs, and he kept missing. Bruised, spidery tract marks wound down his arms. The spit and snot was dribbling down his chin.

"Finn "

The boy didn't even look up, just kept trying to shoot up, as he heaved out, "I c-can't do it, Jake. I can't and I-I-" he wiped at his nose with his arm, "I tried but I-"

Jake had moved to his side, and sat on the bed next to him, resting a hand on his brother's back. "Shhh, brother. It's ok. I'm here."

But Finn cut in with another sob "I messed up s-so badly and I hate-hate-"

Jake rubbed a circle on Finn's back as he replied soothingly, "No, brother. I love you. We all love you, no matter what you do. We're gonna help you."

More tears poured from Finn's eyes and Jake fought back his own, before he felt something warm and looked down; Finn's arm had begun to bleed. He reached for the needle and Finn's expression grew frightened. "Jake I need it I need this don't " But Jake calmed him with more shushing, before he gently took the needle away, then stretched out Finn's arm further, before easily sliding the needle into a vein. "Finn," he said quietly, starting to push the plunger down, "you can have it. But you have to promise that after after this, we'll talk to Princess Bubblegum. Together. And we'll get you help, ok?"

Finn managed a slight nod, before his eyes slipped closed and he let the heroin flood his system.


End file.
